Spoilers for 7x06. May be rendered AU by 7x07.
I'm not happy with this, but whatever, it's an update, right? Lol
Not supposed to hunt alone
John Winchester didn't train soldiers. He trained brothers.
They didn't need to learn how to hunt alone, because they were not supposed to hunt alone. This was not a career choice. His sons were not supposed to be hunters.
This was temporary. Just until they caught Mary's killer, the one who came for Sammy and then they would be safe. And then they would stand down. Settle down. Go back home to Kansas, get a house, an education, a job, a family, give him some grandkids who would not ever touch a gun, ever.
(Well, maybe not to Kansas. He was still wanted over there, after a shapeshifter hunt gone wrong. Maybe Sioux Falls or Blue Earth. Singer and Jim always were the closest thing the boys ever had to relatives. It would be good for them to be close.)
John Winchester didn't train separated soldiers. He trained a unit. He trained them to play to their strengths and complement each other. Because they had to watch each other's backs, keep each other safe, alive, well. When John was out of reach, he had to trust that each individual weakness was matched by the other's strength.
That's why Dean has the strategy and Sammy has the research. Dean has good gut instincts, but no patience. Sam has unmatched concentration, but overanalyzes everything. Dean can make people fear, Sam can make them fearless. Dean can bulls eye anything with any gun ever made by man. Sammy is faster and more agile. Dean has the weapons training; Sam, the hand to hand. Dean runs faster, Sam swims better. Dean keeps the gas tank filled, Sam gets the groceries. Dean takes care of the money, Sam handles the maps.
They are a team. One doesn't work without the other. And they are not supposed to. John doesn't want soldiers, he wants his sons alive. They have to stick together.
They are not supposed to hunt alone.
SPNSPNSPNSPN
Dean learns that lesson soon enough. As soon as Sam leaves for school and Dad ditches him, so drunk Dean isn't sure how he makes it to the highway.
It's not as if he can't do this alone, but it is so much harder. Everything. He thought it would only be the research part. He could never be bothered by it. He tried, but why the hell would he need to memorize anything in Latin when Sammy was fluent on the thing? Well, now he knows why.
The research sucks. It takes so much longer without Sam. And it's not as if there is a Hunter Encyclopedia he could just check to give him answers. He can't call Bobby. Last time Dean saw the man, he was getting his shotgun and aiming for Dad. True, for Dad, Bobby probably wouldn't shoot Dean. Pretty sure. But Dad would be pissed if he knew Dean went to him for help.
He can't call Pastor Jim either. He'd have to say he was hunting alone and then Jim would fight with Dad… again. Like Dean isn't 24 and needs a fucking babysitter.
The research sucks, but he works around it. Tries to take the jobs where the bad guy is easier to figure out. Hauntings are easy enough. The only research required is to find out who the dead dude is, the rest is pretty much always the same. Dig. Salt. Burn. Cover the hole. Get the car. Move to the next town.
The real bitch of it is… all the other stuff he relied on Sam to do. From checking the goddammed maps to making sure they have enough salt. And talking to the victims. God. Dean hates talking to the victims. Unless they are young and female, it is so fucking hard to get across them. Sam just bats puppy dog eyes and they are eating out of his hand.
The job gets done, sure. But it's so much harder.
Dean can do it alone, he just doesn't want to.
He breathes in. Breathes out.
Dad is missing. He has an excuse. He goes to get Sam back.
They are not supposed to hunt alone.
SPNSPNSPNSPN
Sam learns the same lesson, just a whole of a lot harder. Because Dean isn't there and as far as he knows, as far as he's researched (and it's pretty fucking far), Dean isn't coming back.
Sam is alone and on a mission and it is so much harder without Dean. For all he ever complained about being bossed around, he never really realized how much he depended on his brother.
Dean tried to teach him before he died, but Sam couldn't really pay any attention to most of it. His brother would start talking about shit he had to learn how to do on his own and Sam would nod and agree and breath through his mouth while he tried to hold on to his damned soul not to cry, not to let his face fall, not to drop to his knees and bawl.
He thought the hardest part would be the car. It's not. The car is strong and steady and it's almost as if she knows she can't bail on Sam now, like she knows she's all that's left. The maintenance stuff, Sam can handle. He spent his life riding in that same car with two mechanics by heart, if not by choice. He picked up on the basics.
Taking care of the car is not hard at all, he manages it. The problem is… it's everything else. Credit card fraud is a bitch and Dean is the one who had it mastered. Hustling without a wingman is almost damn near impossible. And that is not even counting the actual hunting part. Sam had grown used to falling in line behind his brother, doing as he silently said with his eyes. Dean was always sure, Sam is never sure. He always second guesses himself on the field. He takes too long, he analyzes too much.
The job gets done, but it's so much harder. Sam needs someone, he needs guidance and validation. In hindsight, it's pretty obvious to see how easy it was for Ruby to trick him. Even soulless, why he so quickly joined the Campbells.
So Sam knows. He knows.
Sam's pissed off, God, yes, he is so fucking beyond pissed off. Dean lied to him. Dean killed his friend. After everything, after Hell and Lucifer and that speech on the car about how Sam was a grown-up now and not a snot-nosed kid, Dean lied. Sam was at his lowest and he trusted Dean to be the base stone of his entire reality and Dean lied. Dean promised what he said was truth and he lied. Sam is angry. Enraged. Pissed-off.
Heartbroken.
But what the hell else is he going to do? He has to hunt. There's nothing else out there. His name is on the federal database as a dead serial killer. All his aliases are on Leviathan's hands. He can't do anything else. All he has is the job. The hunt.
Sam does want to do it alone, he just can't.
He breathes in. Breathes out.
He'll work the case with Dean.
They are not supposed to hunt alone.